An Electric Dream Or An Electric Nightmare?

Let’s check out some basic facts before we go any further.

- P. Tharyan

Fact1: It was in 1947 that India got its Independence. Fact2: At 10 pm on April 28, 2018 Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted that Leisang in Manipur had become “powered and empowered” as the last village in India to be electrified. Fact3: According to reports, there are over one lakh e-rickshaws plying on the roads of Delhi and only one-fourth of them are registered, despite a subsidy scheme of the government. Organised theft of power in Delhi for charging of e-rickshaws has assumed serious proportions with discom sources putting the annual losses due to it at nearly Rs 150 crore. There are three power distribution companies -- BYPL and BRPL of BSES and Tata Power Delhi Distribution (TPDDL) -- that supply electricity to the national capital. Fact4: Hybrid cars are taxed at 43 percent (including cess) as compared to electric cars that are taxed at 12pc. ICE vehicles are also taxed at 43pc. Fact5: All identified 2.5 cr unelectrifed households in the country to be energised by March 2019, says Finance Minister in his Budget speech in 2019.

There are many more such facts, some constructive, some not so constructive. Will bringing in pure electric vehicles end the misery of a globe threatened by increasing pollution, global warming and climate changes? And can India emulate the rich countries in their ways to promote the use of pure electric vehicles? Arguments are flying thick and fast among experts in the automobile industry. While some say it’s doable, others feel that if India were to pursue only a pure electric vehicle dream without being careful, it would be like committing hara-kiri.